Traditionally, audience measurement entities determine media exposure and/or device usage data by tracking registered panel members (e.g., panelists). Panelists are users and/or groups of users (e.g., a household) registered on panels maintained by a ratings entity (e.g., an audience measurement entity). That is, an audience measurement entity enrolls people who consent to being monitored in a panel. The audience measurement entity then monitors those panel members to determine media exposure data and/or device usage data (e.g., streaming media usage, browsing usage data, etc.) associated with those panel members. In this manner, the audience measurement entity can derive audience measurement data based on the collected media exposure data and device usage data.
Traditionally, audience measurement entities (also referred to herein as “ratings entities”) determine demographic reach for advertising and media programming based on the registered panel members. That is, during enrollment of persons into a panel, the audience measurement entity receives demographic information from the enrolling people so that statistical projections may be made to extrapolate media exposure from those panelists to one or more demographic groups and/or markets.
People may join panels in any of a number of different ways. For example, people may become panelists via, for example, a user interface presented on a device. Additionally or alternatively a person may join a panel via a telephone interview, by completing an online survey, etc. Additionally or alternatively, people may be contacted and/or enlisted in a panel using any desired methodology (e.g., random selection, statistical selection, phone solicitations, Internet advertisements, surveys, advertisements in shopping malls, product packaging, etc.).